outlookindia.com,  Thu Jan  5 11:33:15 EST 2006

    Describing the LTTE as a "ruthless killing machine more dangerous than al-Qaeda", visiting Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera has asked the US to get tough with the Tiger rebels and take measures against Tamil exile groups financing them.

"The United States must realise that they are not dealing with a liberation movement but a ruthless killing machine more dangerous than al-Qaeda," Samaraweera said in an interview to 'The Washington Times'.

He urged the US to get tough with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and shut down front groups and charities as well as take measures against Tamil exiles financing the rebels.

The Tamil Tigers, in the view of Samaraweera, are the "godfathers of modern terrorism" with the al-Qaeda even adopting some of the Tiger techniques such as suicide bombings and speedboat assault on naval vessels.
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- The Academic

There more than 300,000 Tamils in USA and they are well organized irrespective of whether they are from Tamilnadu or Sri Lanka. US government has to think about the pressure applied by those organizations than around 8000 Sinhalese who are not organizing at all.
I think Managala is wasting his time by asking this from USA.

Amaka, I agree with you.  The USA has a lot invested in India and there is a tacit understanding between them that SL and the LTTE are in India's sphere of influence.  Would you agree with the opinion that India will never allow the LTTE to be defeated by GOSL (because of the South Indian vote) and at the same time will never allow the LTTE to create Eelam?

dear veritas
what do u think? we can improve ou knowledge, but please dont preach wijewweras indian invasion theory.but valuble one

I have no idea Rawana.  I remember Vadamaarachi, Indira Gandhi had already moved thousands of troops to the South in preparation.  I don't know what India/USA etc will actually do.

Veritas wrote:

Amaka, I agree with you.  The USA has a lot invested in India and there is a tacit understanding between them that SL and the LTTE are in India's sphere of influence.  Would you agree with the opinion that India will never allow the LTTE to be defeated by GOSL (because of the South Indian vote) and at the same time will never allow the LTTE to create Eelam?

Yes, what you are telling is true. That is what I am telling that there should be a method to isolate LTTE from Tamil and then give a better solution to the problem. War is not a solution.
Only solution I recommend is to make English as a working language.

We cannot say that American are not aware of:

JVP MP and propaganda secretary Wimal Weerawansa told a press briefing Tamil Struggle was just a part of a plan by the "American imperialists" to divide Sri Lanka and India using the LTTE which he termed as an American agent. He said that this plan of the "American imperialists" was aimed at destabilising the entire region. Wimal Weerawansa alleged the recently visited U.S military officials got almost everything in details about the Sri Lankan military. He also alleged that the Sri Lankan armed forces gathered information about the LTTE activities. But the American military officials stole all the information about the LTTE and they copied the details in their computers before they left the country.


The Island (2003/04/23)

I don’t know why the SL government is repeatedly saying they will talk with the so called godfathers of modern terrorists. First of all don’t ask the other countries to band LTTE, make sure that LTTE is banded in Srilanka, then we can ask the others to do so. Do you know that LTTE  is waiting to be banded in EU, then only they will have a good reason to start the war, saying LTTE only had hopes in EU not in Lanka. So I think it is advisable not to band LTTE in EU, until Lanka is ready to fight. I think  MR will make up his mind to go to Oslo rather than go to Vanni; because MR may need a visa to visit Vanni and the visa application may be turned down by the LTTE. Its better to go to Oslo rather then go to war.

Without any offer of devolution from the Sinhalese, US won't do much other than issuing statements.  LTTE is banned in US, but their functionaries or negotiators live here and others come and go.  The American priority is Al Qaeda, not LTTE.  Mangala should focus his efforts to get the peace process going.

dear vertas
pls dont regard as india our enemy becas he didnt support mr.india had a clear picture of mr & his oppotunistic politics.thatsy india didnt support us. india was great friend of late sirima bandaranayake.

Rawana I don't regard India as an enemy.  As you say Mrs B had very good relations with India and JR could have had good relations too if he did not tilt so much to the West.  But then again, Mrs B did not have the problems that leaders have faced since JR's time. I suppose India will do something if the LTTE is faring very badly.  But what will that something be?

nirupama_Subramaniam wrote:

Without any offer of devolution from the Sinhalese, US won't do much other than issuing statements.  LTTE is banned in US, but their functionaries or negotiators live here and others come and go.  The American priority is Al Qaeda, not LTTE.  Mangala should focus his efforts to get the peace process going.

Just read this
http://www.sangam.org/FACTBOOK/LegalStatus.htm

US is not interested in capitalist movements. Those are not a threat to their globalization process.
Fighting with Al Qaeda is sort of crusade not fighting with terrorist.

Hi Veritas

Veritas wrote:

Amaka, I agree with you.  The USA has a lot invested in India and there is a tacit understanding between them that SL and the LTTE are in India's sphere of influence.  Would you agree with the opinion that India will never allow the LTTE to be defeated by GOSL (because of the South Indian vote) and at the same time will never allow the LTTE to create Eelam?

Answering your question is a little difficult.  To give a short answer, the days of Indira Gandhi and Congress supremacy have long since passed.  India is now in the era of weak coalition governments plagued with indecision and ignorance, particularly on the Srilanka issue.  My feeling is that it will not be very reliable either to protect Tamils from a triumphant GoSL, nor to safeguard the country from being partitioned by a victorious LTTE.

The ideal situation for India which meets its interests is for the GoSL to suppress the LTTE while implementing substantial devolution at the same time (note: "implementing devolution" means just that, and not merely talking about devolution).  In this outcome, India will do nothing to save the LTTE, regardless of how much V. Gopalasamy or Ramdoss or other Tamilnadu dregs cry and gnash their teeth.  

If however, the Srilankan leaders don't offer anything to the Tamils at all (which seems to be Mahinda's current position) and is killing many innocent Tamils to get the LTTE, India might do something quietly to sabotage the GoSL, which may or may not be effective, although I doubt it will try to do what Indira Gandhi did in 1983-4, like arming the LTTE.  THere is a chance it might threaten Srilanka like what happened during Vadamarachchi Operation, but whether it will actually carry through with it is a different story.

The bottom line is that neither Sinhalese nor Srilankan Tamils should place a great deal of faith on the Indians, and they should especially not support the direct intervention of India to support their respective agendas.  The IPKF episode should be a stark reminder of the ugly dark side of Mother India (as some of the profound genius political bhikkhus don't seem to comprehend) and how much cruelty and lack of regard for human life it can be capable of.



Last edited by Taraki on Thu Jan 05, 2006 6:19 pm; edited 1 time in total

Hello Taraki, how nice to hear from you again.  I thought you had quit in despair as I have been tempted to do many times.  Well, to return to the subject at hand, I always thought that GOSL should devolve power as soon as possible while preparing for war.  May be this would keep India quiet.  When you consider the allies that MR has, the various pressures he is under from all sorts of quarters, it is hard to imagine him doing anything without antagonising someone else.  But off course 'a week is a short time in politics' as they say and next Thursday there may be other factors affecting this mess.

dear tharaki
i also agree india doesnt have good back bone, u know y, suppose if tigers killed an american president do u think where is the vp now? he must be in the hell where most despicable criminals treated.even i dont understand india. but very sure there is no independant eelam in SL wt india. becas new eelam will start independan struggles in THAMIL NADU, KERALA, even PUNJAB & KASHMIR.